Aero and Tajy ~Birds of a Feather~

Lena woke slowly; the bright light of the morning sun hurt her eyes. Letting them adjust Lena sat up and felt something fall to her waist, looking down she noted it was Talos’ cloak. She brought a hand to where the dried blood had been and felt it was gone. He had cleaned her face off for her. A light pink stain of a blush covered her cheeks as she found Talos by the fire pit. All of the meat that had been left over was virtually gone; great they’d have to hunt again. Standing and walking over to his side, she held the cloak out to him. “Thank you.” She said, refusing to meet his gaze and then walked to her pack, regrouping everything.

“Talos…once you’ve healed, what would you say to going back and retrieving our weapons from those sad excuses for pirates? We can’t do much with only my bow, and I know my dagger is gone…probably whatever hand held weapons you had too…” She gave him the suggestion, not really sure he would want to go back on the boat. Lena wasn’t ecstatic about the idea, but she wanted revenge and her weapon back. Thinking about the possibilities, it would have to take place during the day, a groan inducing thought indeed. Talos was useless at night, but during the day all eyes could pick out their wings, even more so Lena’s. The more she thought about it, the less of a good idea it seemed to her. They would have to travel more inland to avoid the men in black and get back to the shore. Lena had already caused Talos quite a bit of trouble and pain, and her ego wasn’t so big to admit it was her fault. The first time anyway.

~*~*~

Kol took his time flying to the field of their permeate meeting spot. Consumed with his thoughts, he almost missed the clearing, and then landed on the large rock as he had done so many times before. But this meeting would not be filled with Mai’s beautiful smile, or her laughter. Kol planned on telling her who he really was and it was a frightening thought. Besides his family, Kol never let himself have something he could lose. Yes, he was rich, but if he had lost it all he knew he could make it through fine. He could pull off almost any outfit.

“Be still, my heart…Await her judgment before feeling such pain. I’ve no wish to get a wrinkle.” He told himself seriously. His heart was pounding a million miles per hour and a heavy weight sat upon his chest. Mai. He thought the name in his head, he had gotten used to being around her almost every day. He had become accustomed to her presence as a person not just as his most hated rivals sister. Leaning back with a sigh, he waited for her to come.

"Mm, so the sleepin' beauty wakes, up finally. Welcome back to the world of the living!" Talos greeted cheerfully when Lena showed signs of stirring, stifling a yawn as he did so. While she was busy catching up on her beauty sleep, he had kept watch, keeping himself awake by patrolling the perimeter of their camp out of range of the fire light. He had noted that the smell of sea salt was gone from the air now, which meant that they weren't close to the coast anymore. He had come back from one such round recently, warming himself by the fire when Lena had woken up. He noted with some amusement that she wouldn't meet his gaze as she uttered her thanks and gave him back his cloak, then saw what appeared to be a blush and quickly averted his gaze as well. Ever since his revelation about Lena not looking as much like a boy as he had first made her out to be, he hadn't been able to look at her straight. It was quite awkward, actually, since he had to check on her every once in a while to make sure she was really sleeping and hadn't died. He figured that once she got irritated at him again for something, everything would be right as rain.

In the mean time, he was occupied with considering the merits of getting back his weapons. Even if it weren't specifically his weapons that they stole back from the pirates, getting a bow that was larger than Lena's would help. It was a suitable enough weapon for the smaller woman, but the draw weight was considerably less than what he was used to with his own bow. After mulling over their options for a little, he chuckled and couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face. "Yeah, they took my knives when they tied me up, I reckon. I didn't think to try and steal someone else's when we were running... I was a bit sick after staying below deck for so long..." He scratched his chin, the light blond stubble rough on his fingers. Apparently, he was also in desperate need of a good shave. "Right, so Lena, how much do you know of these pirates exactly? Or... should I call you the "White Wolf" from now on?"

*~*~*~*

Mai arrived shortly after Kol did having spotted him arriving from quite a distance away. Her stomach had turned uncomfortably at the sight of him, and she half wondered if it would have been all together better to simply turn around and head back home. What if he really was a Serenoa? What if he was just charming his way in to her heart for some sort of sadistic pleasure of his own devising? All these thoughts assaulted her as she slowly flew to the meadow, setting down in the grass a few feet away from Kol, her troubles written clearly on her face. She watched him carefully, keeping her distance and taking note of the very serious expression that Kol held on his face as well. Her heart dropped again, and it seemed that everything was all pointing to the same place: Kol was the oldest son of her family's most hated rival. But she had to ask, to clarify, whatever good that would do her. "Kol, I gotta question, 'an I need ya ter answer me straight." She let the words hang for a moment, clenching her fists and steeling her posture slightly, as if the question was as hard for her to ask as the answer she might possibly receive. "Are you a Serenoa?"

Lena frowned when she heard the name ‘white wolf’ and then sighed. “I’ve not been called that in years, and I’d rather not start again.” She added a bit of a bite to her voice as she hoisted her pack on her back, and walked over to him. Sitting down next to the fire she looked deep in thought for a moment. “I’ve met those pirates before. I stumbled into one of their slave deals. They were selling off eleven children to other pirates. I…kina let my temper get the best of me and attacked them. I couldn’t very well leave any of them alive to come after me…” She sounded as if she were defending her actions, taking a moment to find the ground far more interesting. Lena couldn’t say that the act of killing out of defense bothered her much any more, but to take a persons life was never an easy thing to bear upon the soul and judgment never helped. She had no idea what Talos would think, and why should she care if he approved or not? Better question was why did it bother her?

Annoyed with her train of thought, she continued. “After that, the leader heard whispers of a story going about the town.” Lena hesitated, it wasn’t a pretty story, even if it was blown out of proportion. “It was passed down as such; a woman clad in white maliciously slaughtered an entire crew, leaving no man alive. Covered in the spilt blood, she emerged looking like a feral wolf. And thus, was named as the White Wolf.” After a few minutes of unbearable silence, she scratched at her head and let out a nervous laugh. “I suppose I became kind of popular after that. Though…to go from five men to and entire crew is a little much…” She mumbled and glanced over to him. She’d never told the story to anyone else before, and imaged they would either laugh at how ridiculous it sounded, or be disgusted. Lena was never good at measuring how people would react around her.

~*~*~*

Kol heard the soft beat of wings and sat himself up. He felt his own heart drop at Mai’s expression. Something was wrong. Standing, he noted she wasn’t coming any closer to him. When he was about to ask what was wrong, she spoke first asking if he was a Serenoa. He felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He stared at her, with an open mouth for a few minutes, stunned at her question. Why now did she finally suspect him of being such? In the entire time he had spent with her, she had never asked such a thing. But, it was true. Taking a deep breath to steady himself he spoke. “Yes, Mai, I am.” He nodded as if to add to the conformation. This isn’t exactly how he had planned on telling her, but it was finally time to see what would happen. “I was planning on telling you today…” He said. Who knew if she’d believe him now? He looked at her closely to measure her reaction.

Talos listened raptly to Lena's story, his face kept carefully neutral throughout the telling. "That's quite the past you've got there." He mumbled, scratching his chin again and musing over what she'd said. He watched her face carefully when she was done speaking, noting how incredibly awkward she looked now that all her cards were on the table. "I think you did a good thing, freein' those slaves, I mean. And if you had to kill a few pirates in the process, well, that's all the better, right? They aren't ever going to be tradin' children ever again.

"And I wouldn't worry much about the stories... they just get worse the more they're spread around. Just think, in a few more years, the "Legend of Lena" will practically be folklore. And you bet that those seamen, superstitious as they are, will think twice about trading slaves in those ports, what with the "white wolf" out to get anyone that's trading children for blood money." He shrugged, trying his best to put Lena at ease since she was obviously very paranoid about sharing her past with him. He could sympathize with that. After all, wanderers by nature had learned to keep to themselves and not open up too much to anyone. "Just look at it this way, nobody'd know that it was you anyhow unless they saw you in action, and the stories will help pirates keep their noses clean for a bit."

*~*~*~*

Mai examined Kol for a long moment, her eyes searching his face with an almost desperate fervor. Her suspicions had been confirmed, and she couldn't see any possible reason why he would want to lie about his family name. The only big question now was what she was going to make of the information. The Serenoa clan had long been the stuff of nightmares for her, their dog whistles waking her up in the middle of the night and ultimately resulting in her unnatural fear of the dark. By all rights, she should have been pissed at him, thrown every insult she could think at him and left, never turning back.

But how could she deny all the fun that they had together?

She touched the silver bracelet on her wrist, her eyes tracing the intricate patterns. Had he simply done all that to gain her trust? He had certainly gone far out of his way to try and please her and keep her attention. If it were all just a means to an end... no, she wanted to hear it from him.

"Why didja stay 'an talk ter me, Kol? I told ya upfront who I was, so you didn't have ter stay 'an keep wantin' ter talk to me." There was sadness in her voices as she raised her gaze from the bracelet to his face, searching his green eyes for the truth. "What didja want from me?"

Lena looked at Talos, surprised by his response. "Thank you, Talos, for understanding." She looked up to him with a genuine smile. She wasn't used to sharing herself with others, but the feeling of a weight being lifted from her shoulders she thought she could get used to. In all their time traveling, they hadn't had much of the 'deep' conversations, but it least this one went well. From what she knew, he had never hid things from her and assumed he would supply the answers if she had asked. She liked that about him. ...And in like, she meant as in respected, not like like. No no no. Flustered that her own thoughts continued to betray her, she suddenly stood. "...We should get going." Without looking over her shoulder to him, she snuffed out the fire and started her way in a north east direction. If they wanted to get back to the pirates, they would have to take the long way. Feeling those thoughts far more safe, she put a hand to her unusually warm face. She scoffed, Stupid Talos.

Two weeks of a combination of rest and travel had brought the avians back to the coast and the air was thick with the smell of sea salt. Lena looked at the small clearing they were in and set her back pack down, looking at Talos. "It's time to get those stitches out." She cracked her knuckles and sat next to a tree. "We might as well get it over with before we go in to do battle. It will only be a hindrance." She believed her logic to be sound as she studied him with her gaze.

~~~~~

"Mai..." He took a step forward, but then stopped himself. She looked so sad that he wished to scoop her into his arms and hold her tightly. Despite his urges to comfort her, he stood in place. "When I first met you, I can't deny it was more curiosity that drew me to you...but now...I long to hear your laughter, to see your smile. You became such a part of my life..." Kol looked down to compose his thoughts and then leveled his gaze back to her own. "I love you Mai." His voice held a wealth of emotion to it as he looked at her. "If you ask what it is I wish, it is simply to be in your company."

The first week that they had spent making sure that they weren't captured again by those crazy stealth cultists that had been after Lena. Because of his stitches and general wounded status, he was forced to walk instead of fly, the second option having been the much preferred mode of travel. But, somehow, they managed to avoid everything and loop back around to the coast. He was eager to have the stitches out, but that meant taking off his shirt. Now, there were two problems, one of which he shared with Lena directly. "But it's cold." He mumbled, fingering the edges of his shirt in a preoccupied way. The second reason, he would not tell her, even if revealing the thought would possibly save his life. In order to take out the stitches, he would have to take his shirt off. In front of Lena. Who was a girl. A pretty girl, and that just didn't fly with the currently very much flightless Talos. There really was no other option, and he also realized this, but delaying the inevitable seemed like a good tactic for some reason.

*~*~*~*

She wasn't entirely sure if she had heard him right. Did he really just confess to her? As soon as Mai's brain could wrap around those words, she felt herself begin to tear up and immediately clapped her hands to her mouth, sniffling in what was probably a very dramatic way. But she couldn't stop, and pretty soon her eyes were simply leaking, despite her attempts to wipe away the tears. "Y-you big i-i-idiot..." She sniffled, unsure if she was still sad or happy, but why should she have been the former when there was a man in existence who seemed to love her for some reason despite all of her shortcomings and the huge barrier that had traditionally separated Serenoa from Estoen for as long as anyone could remember.

Lena starred at him like he was dumb. "What do you mean 'it's cold'? Do you even know how childish that sounds? If you don't voluntarily take it off, I will do it by force. Either way, those stitches need to come out. So which way was it gonna be?" She crossed her arms over her chest and awaited his reply.

For the time being, she wasn't thinking about how he would look shirtless, the thought had yet to cross her mind. The last time she had seen him shirtless was when he was covered in blood from the very wound she was trying to take the stiches out from. Just now, for some reason he thought it was too cold to take his shirt off. Why was he being such a ninny?

~*~*~*~

Kol couldn't help the relieved smile that worked its way to his face. He couldn't even believe the amount of relief he had felt as he released the sigh. Now though he wasn't sure how to take her crying. "I suppose I am, hm?" He said softly, approaching her slowly. As he neared Mai, he wrapped his arms around her drawing her into a gently embrace. "I do hope you weep in joy and not sorrow, Mai." He said a little unsure himself. He assumed he would figure it out if she pushed him away from her or not. He thought to himself as he leaned down to rest his head against hers.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Talos stood and began undoing all the belts that held on his empty quiver and pack, dropping them to the ground and pulling off his shirt. "Fine, whatever. I don't want you coming over here and ripping my clothes all to shreds. I'd like to use 'em again." Once he had his shirt off, he folded it neatly and set it aside, striding toward Lena purposefully, though he kept his gaze strictly anywhere but on Lena. He felt that looking at her would probably be a terrible idea, and was unsure why he thought so, not even bothering to contemplate what might happen if he actually met her eyes. A little reluctantly, he got down in front of her, resting his chin on his folded arms and waited patiently for her to get the whole de-stitching thing over with. "Just try not to rip me back open, alright?"

*~*~*~*

As soon as she felt Kol's arms around her, Mai immediately reached for his shirt and grabbed it tightly in her fists, resting her head against his chest and crying there instead of into her hands. "I-I don't know." She mumbled into his shirt, pulling herself closer. "I think I'm happy... I dunno why I wouldn't be. You're great, 'an I probably don't deserve ya, but ye love me anyway... 'And t-t-then..." She paused, drawing in a ragged breath and loosening her clenched hands slightly, wiping her eyes. "But what'll the rest of 'em say? My da... he killed yer pa, right? He don't talk 'bout it much, but I know it happened..."

Lena was pleased that he had finally agreed, and watched carefully as he undressed. Suddenly she found this to be a rather bad idea. His flat stomach and well toned arms where not this appealing the first time around. Lena didn't remember seeing the glide of his muscles under his skin before either. She felt her face grown burning hot as a dark blush rose to her cheeks and she couldn't be more happy that he kept his gaze averted. What was wrong with her? Waiting till he laid in front of her, she didn't respond at first to what he was saying. "O-Of course, I have more skill then that." Her voice didn't sound like her own. She took a breath and rummaged around her bag for a small knife.

Lena placed one hand on his back and immediately withdrew it as if she had been burned. Her hand was so warm compared to the cool skin of his back. And for some reason she felt as if the touch would be intimate. Lena shook her head, she didn't understand what was going on. With a purposeful sigh, she set her hand back down as a guide and the other to cut the stitches. Carefully she withdrew them from his back until the very last one was out. Satisfied with not only her handiwork, but that she had finally calmed herself with the concentration of extracting the wire, she sat back. "Alright, all done."

~~~~~~

Kol kept silent for a moment. "It's true Mai...and I miss him but that was a fight we were not involved in. If we live our lives with the restrictions of the past, we'll never actually get to live them, right?" He pulled back from her gently and looked down to her. "Come now, let me see that smile of yours." He said softly and leaned down to kiss the trail of tears from her eyes on each side. He framed her face with both of his hands and smiled. "If it is your true wish to be with me, I will happily cast our family's past behind us." He knew it may be easy for the both of them to be happy, but for both families to come to together would be much harder.

Without meaning to, he shivered at her touch, her warm palm against his cooled skin practically an electrical shock. He closed his eyes tightly and waited for her to begin, entirely uncomfortable with the way that this whole process was turning out. The actual feeling of having the stitches pulled from his back was extremely odd. It didn't hurt like he was expecting, but instead felt like a tug as the wires were extracted from his skin, and then everything was out and he was fine. He heaved a small sigh of relief when Lena declared the process done, eager to have all these strange feelings wrapped up when he blessedly put his clothes back on.

Careful to keep from touching her -for it was already too awkward at the moment without him adding any more physical contact- he managed to sit up, reaching back over his shoulder to feel where the stitches had previously been. He could still feel the bumps where the wire had been in his skin, the scar a small raised knot that he was sure was a bright agitated red at the moment. Continuing his exploration of Lena's handy work, he reached around underneath the opposite wing, feeling around at the end of the scar. Deeming it acceptable, he stood and stretched his arms and wings, glad that doing either was no longer an action that made him experience a tremendous amount of pain like it would have before. "That's much better. Thank ya, Lena." He grinned, accidentally met her eyes, then quickly averted them to the sky, or the trees, or something else. It was far too embarrassing to meet her eyes in his shirtless condition. He quickly redressed, grateful for the clothing. He didn't feel so very badly exposed now with it on.

*~*~*~*

Mai sniffled again, placing her hands over Kol's and mustering a smile for him, finding the action to be surprisingly easy despite her conflicted fears over the hurdles that their relationship would have to overcome. She could hardly bear the thought of leaving her family behind for Kol... it was all that she had ever known... But all the fighting was stupid. She had said so herself on many occasions, and she was part of an example that their families really could get along and that all the ridiculous warring could be put to an end. "Afore we go runnin' away into the sunset... I think I wanna have you meet my ma. I'm pretty sure that she already knew you were a Serenoa when I told 'er about ya. She... well, she didn't seem against it."

Lena felt her blush return as she watched his muscles glide beneath his skin once more. She never noticed his back and shoulders held more muscle to them then his abdomen. His movements were oddly memorizing. Lena continued to stare at him until their eyes finally met. Abruptly turning her head, she decided that it was best to get a move on. "Well, seeing as you are healed, lets go." A renewed vigor hit her system as she thought about extracting her revenge on the pirates. They were always such a nasty bunch. Unfolding her wings she gave Talos a sly grin, this should prove to interesting. "I think our best course of action would be to fly further out to sea, and around about to the sea side of the boat. That way we still have the element of surprise on our side." Pleased with her plan she nodded and with that, she was back into the sky.

~*~*~*~

"Your mother?" Kol repeated the words. They had just come with terms with who he was, and it made Mai an emotional mess..."I suppose I wouldn't really mind..." He had known nothing about her mother but what could be the harm? If she already knew, the major obstacle would have been cleared. "It's just...Mai, we can't be seen by the rest of your family." He was sure she knew that, but wanted reiterate it. Being seen by someone like Arthulur would not be a pretty picture, even more so if he thought that he was attacking Mai and her mother. He sighed at the thought. Good thing Talos was on hiatus.

Talos returned Lena's grin, spreading his wings and giving them and experimental flap, pleased with how he had healed up. "Aye, I'm ready to get my bow back now." With a powerful stroke of his wings he was off, soaring with Lena out over the sea. They kept their distance from the shore for a while as they flew, looking for the pirate ship that he had been captive on for the few hours before Lena had managed to rescue him. Once they saw the dreaded vessel, they stuck close to the water, just barely skimming over the breaking waves as they silently approached the ship.

Talos grabbed the side of the boat, settling himself against it like some sort of huge feathered bat, hanging by his hands with his feet braced against the wood paneling of the side. He looked once to Lena before lifting himself up, managing to look over the gunwale and scan the deck briefly. There was a man dozing in the crow's nest, one patrolling the helm, and another one just a few feet from where he hung, whittling away at some small chunk of wood in his hand.

He hauled himself over the side, landing quietly on the deck and sneaking up behind the closet man, reaching around an snapping his neck with a sickening crack before he could make much more noise than a chocked off cry. Easing the now limp body to the deck, he looked up at the helm to see if his actions had been noticed, quickly withdrawing the sword at the man's side and getting a feel for the balance of the crude blade.

*~*~*~*

"Yeah... I know. We gotta keep ya well away from the house, or ye might be seen... I'll bring my ma to ya if you'll hide out in the woods near the house. Everyone should be at their jobs at this time 'o the day." She stepped back from him, a contemplative look on her face as she considered what to do next.

Once they were on their way, Mai showed Kol where he would be out of sight of the house, which was surprisingly a long way away. The Estoen's had extremely keen eyesight, and she wasn't going to be taking any chances. Afterwards, she headed home, entering the house as quietly as she could, making a b-line for the laundry room. True to form, her mother was there, forever folding clothes. The older woman looked up when she heard Mai enter, a curious look on her face.

"Mai, wot's happened to ya? Yer eyes are all red... did that boy make ye cry?" She asked, her voice filled with concern.

Mai shook her head quickly. "No no no ma, it's not like that... Look ma, I know yer all fer me gettin' married ter Kol, but I want ya ter meet him first 'afore you go 'an make any more assumptions 'bout 'im."

For a long moment, mother and daughter watched each other carefully, gauging one another for their reaction. Finally, Mai's mother set down her clothes and waded out of the never ending piles of dirty and clean rags, following Mai out of the house in out into the woods where she had instructed Kol to wait.

When she finally got there, she gasped, an astonished look on her face. Mai looked at her curiously, then began the introductions. "Ma, this is-"

"Kol, I know." She interrupted quickly, never taking her eyes off of the man. "Ya look jus' like 'em... 'an ya couldn't be Enitan. 'Es too young yet ter be you..." For a moment, it appeared as if she was about to cry, but gained control of herself as quickly as the weakness showed, and she clenched her hands together tightly. "Thank ya Kol fer takin' care 'o my daughter."

Lena followed behind Talos, letting him take lead. She knew that he would have to go on board first, and fell back to allow him to do so. Slowing her approach onto the side of the boat, she made a slightly less graceful landing. Clumsily holding herself on, she gave a nod back to Talos when he looked at her and watched him go over the rail. Listening for the sublet signs that it was fine for her to go, she slowly made her way over the rail. She looked down onto the pirate that now lay dead and was pleased at Talos' swift action.

Lena blinked at the sword Talos now had in hand. He lacked the certain grace that most swordsmen had, but assumed he would still be able to hold his own ground well enough. "Lets get this started then." She whispered to him and pulled the bow from her back. Drawing an arrow and decided to aim for the man in the crows nest. She could take him down in one shot and he would never make a sound. The more men they could kill without alerting the others, the better. Pulling back on the string, she aimed for the mans neck. He had the base of his neck supported against the rail of the crows nest and his head was hanging over the side. As she was about to release the deadly missile, the man on patrol became rather close to them and suspected something aerie when the second patrolmen was not coming back to the other side of the deck. It wasn't a huge ship and shouldn't have taken long for the man to return. Cursing, she aimed her arrow at him and released it into his chest. The arrow dug deep as the man let out a cry of pain.

Cursing several times over that her plan was ruined, she came out of hiding. Notching several more arrows and firing them into the mans chest, Lena worked her way forward. Not thinking about Talos, she assumed once more that he could handle whatever was coming up from the lower decks. She had two maybe three men that she could easily take down. Letting herself be surrounded by them, she noted their hesitant yet angry faces. Oh goodie, they recognized her. She would be rather sad if she were not remembered after such a short span of time. Standing on the balls of her feet, she awaited for the first man to attack her.

~*~*~*

Kol waited where Mai had instructed and was suddenly at a new understanding for how great their eyesight really was during the day. Leaning against a tree, he awaited her return. Somewhere within the span of ten to twenty minutes Kol saw Mai and another form emerge. She was a rather short woman that looked as if she would have been more than beautiful in her youth. Her beauty was still apparent but was masked by age and stress. He was a tad confused at the look on her face, and then thought that perhaps she had not known the Mai was involved with a Seranoa.

As he was about to defend himself, the woman began to speak first. She knew his name. Not only his name, but his brothers as well. He carefully noted how upset she had became as well. "It has been my pleasure, my lady. May I ask as to how you know so much about me?" He was a little hesitant to know the answer, but if the entire Estoen clan knew this much information, trouble could be brewing for his family. Kol thought he was the only one to ever meet one of them during the day. That being Talos and Mai.

Talos's advancement on the deck was a little more hectic than Lena's. When the cry went up after Lena shot the first man, he was bombarded by a slew of angry fellows rushing up from below decks. The first man fell to his awkwardly wielded sword quite easily, since he hadn't even drawn his own and didn't expect to someone standing at the top of the stairs ready to hack his head off. The second man up only got his sword half unsheathed before he too had his neck split open and toppled backwards down the stairs.

After watching two of their fellows fall to the obviously inexperienced sword wielding man at the top of the stairs, the rest of the pirates approached a little more cautiously. One daring man started advancing, sword at the ready and began pushing Talos back with his far superior sword wielding skills. However, as inexperienced as he was, Talos still had the high ground, and the man had to climb over the bodies of two fallen crew members in order to exchange blows with him. He lost his footing, and it was all Talos needed to plunge a blade through the back side of his shoulder, tearing through soft tissue and leaving the man gaping like a fish and bleeding as he collapsed backwards into the rest of the crew.

With all the strength he could muster, Talos kicked the top body down the stairs, further blocking the narrow doorway that lead to the upper deck. Now in order to get up the stairs they would have to push through three limp bodies and climb the blood slicked stairs in order to reach him. Taking a moment to breathe, he looked around and spotted Lena surrounded by the watch guards and a few other men that had probably descended from the riggings. Making a split second decision, he ran toward the circle of men and plunged his blade into the back of the nearest one, catching him completely by surprise as he fell to his knees, letting out a death cry.

What he didn't expect, however, was to be falling with him. Before he could fall all the way over, the blade was yanked from his hand by the corpse, leaving him terribly off balanced. Pure instinct saved him as he dropped to the deck on all fours and felt the whoosh of a blade overhead. One of the other pirates in the circle that had ringed Lena had reacted almost immediately to the second attacker, swinging his blade that was aimed to take off Talos's head. Instead, he only got a few of his blond locks that drifted silently to the planks. There was no time to think about what had just occurred, however, for Talos soon found himself weaponless and desperately fleeing from an enraged pirate, only just barely managing to keep out of range of a fatal swing by fools luck and quick wit.

*~*~*~*

Mai's mother shook her head slowly, squeezing her eyes shut and tapping her lips lightly. "You talk jus' like 'im too..." She mumbled to herself.

"Him who, ma?" Mai asked, sounding curious and concerned at the same time. She didn't know that anyone in her family besides Talos actually knew Kol's name, so hearing her say something about one of the younger brothers was rather surprising.

"I'm sorry, I never thought that you would be so similar..." She wrapped her slim fingers around her neck in a self-comforting gesture, her golden eyes a turbulent storm of emotion that was impossible to wade through. "I knew yer father back 'afore he passed away, Kol. 'E was a good man, 'an didn't deserve what 'e got in the end. 'An you just look 'an act so much like 'em..."

"You knew Kol's da?" Mai asked, incredulous. The shock of this revelation was written all over her face. Obviously, this fact was not common knowledge in the Estoen family.

"Yeah he was... a close friend." Mai's mother replied, though there was something in her voice that hinted to the keen observer that she wasn't giving them the whole story.

Lena had formulated a plan in her mind. She had eyed each of the men, their weapons and stances. Figuring she knew which one of the men seemed the most likely to attack to made her strategy. Guessing the man on her right side would go first, she would dodge the blow by ducking, kick his arm upward and dislodge his weapon, giving her not only time but a possible weapon to use if she could get to it.

All of her plans once again went to waist as an unknown attacker stabbed the man on right through his back clean to his chest. She was rather surprised to see Talos behind the attack and even more so when he had lost the meager excuse for a weapon in a foolish move. Not only did he lose his weapon, he nearly lost his head as she saw some of his locks. "Talos you fool! What are you thinking?!" Drawing an arrow as fast as she could, Lena shot the pirate going after Talos. Being so close though was complete over kill. The arrow had shot through his neck and would have gone straight through if not for the feathers on the end of the shaft. Blood splattered across Talos' face and onto the deck around him.

Taking the time to shoot Talos' peruser had cost her as several the men closed in on her at once. Ducking low to avoid being stabbed, Lena barrel rolled out of the circle. She was up in no time to face the first pirate that had followed her. Throwing one good punch to his face and then another until he was disoriented enough for her to grab his own sword. She waisted no time running the blade across his neck as she nearly decapitated him. The downed man fell at her feet as two others fell in similar fashions.

~*~*~*~

Kol stared at Mai's mother in disbelief. Something had clicked in his head that he knew who she was. "You...You were the woman my father was seeing." Kol took a step back, he had never imagined that he would ever see the person who had driven his mother to suicide. His beautiful mother who was so full of life. He was even more surprised that it was Mai's mother. A chaotic storm of emotions and thoughts ran through his head as he shook it.

Turning around to angrily retort to Lena's comment but only had enough time to dodge as another of the pirates swung for him. That one too met with a grizzly fate as Lena killed him with an expertly placed strike of her sword, and then they were standing amongst a small pile of corpses. A cry of rage from the hold signified that they pirates trapped down there had finally banded together and were making their way out, the flimsy barrier that consisted of their three dead comrades obviously removed when the first few came charging up the narrow stairs. He looked back at Lena and took a few seconds to study her, blood splattered over her hands, a fierce look on her face and sword ready to take on more. "You might be angry all the time, but you sure are beautiful when you're hacking apart pirates." A slow grin that he couldn't get rid of despite the rather dire situation crept onto his face as he locked eyes with the woman for the briefest of seconds.

The moment was ruined when an arrow came streaking through the air between them, burring itself in the planks at Talos's feet. He whipped his eyes up to look at the crow's nest were sure enough the man up there had his own bow and supply of arrows. Formulating an idea, he gauged the distance between himself and the charging pirates and decided quickly on a plan of action. He sprinted for the mainmast, flapping once and leaping at the same time, easily soaring up to the first of the lines of thick hemp rope that hung from the coiled sails far up above. Half climbing, half flying, he stuck as close to the mainmast as he could as he worked his way to the top, presenting the smallest target possible to the stationed archer. The man let a few arrows loose, but they skimmed easily over his head and out of harm's way as he moved quickly between ropes and sails and rigging. Once he reached the top, he flipped himself up into the crow's nest, again relying heavily on his wings to get him up into the bucket and placed a kick on the man's left shoulder that made him stumble and begin to teeter over the edge. With a shove, Talos sent the man falling over the edge, ripping his bow from his hands as the man plummeted over the side and collided with the deck.

The quiver wasn't actually a portable quiver. Instead, the crow's nest had been stocked with some arrows in bins. It was an awkward set up, but he could make due. He quickly tested the draw of the bow and figured that it was no worse than Lena's. Holding three arrows in his left hand, he nocked a fourth on the string and started aiming for the men on the ship below, aiming away from Lena incase the bow performed funny. It was a good thing he did too, for his first shot flew wide of his original target, burying itself into another man's foot instead of the kill shot that he intended. Cursing lightly, he drew and fired again, this time striking a man in the shoulder, making him collapse and lie twitching and screaming on the deck in pain as the arrow wound gushed blood. He continued firing off into the crowd of pirates, all the time aiming at the men that were farthest away from Lena for fear of accidentally hitting her.

*~*~*~*

Two astonished gazes met Kol as he voiced his revelation. Mai's gaze quickly turned to her mother though, unsure if she should have been shocked or disgusted. "Y-you cheated on pa?" She exclaimed, color rising on her face quickly, though in embarrassment or anger, even she didn't know. "Is that why pa killed Kol's da? Because he caught ya cheatin' on 'em?"

With a sad sigh, Mai's mother wrung her hands and dipped her head, closing her eyes briefly before meeting her daughter's eyes. "Yeah, I cheated on my husband with one of Serenoa's men. Don't get me wrong Mai, I love yer pa, always had, but Hyten was... charmin' in a way that Yorin wasn't. I saw 'em a few times and then one night we got together. It was all history from there, almost like I- we couldn't help it." This time, she met Kol's gaze, a wealth of sadness there. "I knew he was cheatin' on yer mother, knew even that 'e already 'ad a daughter that was 'round Arthulur's age. 'An even after she died... 'E looked so sad, 'an I knew that 'e blamed 'imself fer 'er death. I dun't think that 'e loved anybody as much as 'e loved Lyna." A single tear managed to leak from her filling eyes, and she hastily wiped it away. "An when Yorin sawr 'im with me, 'e jus' went plain mad. Thought I was gettin' raped, 'an nothin' I said coulda' stopped 'im from doin' what 'e did. I'm sorry Kol, Hyten didn't deserve what 'e got."

Lena stared at Talos for a long moment and then a grin spread across her own face. While there was irony in being called beautiful while hacking bodies apart, she was rather elated by the compliment. As the arrow had almost nailed Talos' foot to the deck, Lena went back to taking down the men in front of her. The sword she now had would be useful enough to get the job done.

Spinning to avoid the next series of attacks, Lena met another pirate head on. She parried two of the blows before she could even think of taking an offensive attack. This one was good. At Lena's sword clashed over and over with the Pirates own blade she began to worry as all she could do was stay on the defense. Looking around, a faint smile graced her lips as she thought of a plan.

Letting herself be pushed back onto the rail, waiting for the opportune moment, Lena launched herself from the rail and tackled the Pirate head on. Good fortune must have been on her side, for if not the sword the Pirate had held would have stabbed her belly as they landed. As it was, he had dropped the weapon in surprise of the sudden attack. Wasting no time, Lena straddled the man and stabbed him in the neck while he was still stunned, spraying more blood across her face and hands.

Many other the pirates she faced were not so skilled with a blade as they soon found out when they were clutching their slit throats and bellies as the agile avian cut through their ranks. Lena kept an weary eye out for stray arrows as Talos picked off crew members from his perch in the sky.

After around an hour after the bloody battle had started all twenty five men of the crew lay dead or dying on the deck. Lena flicked the blood from the blade she held as she panted lightly. She had not had such a workout in some time! She stood covered in blood and the vast majority was not her own. What injuries she had of her own were limited to a few gashes on her arms and a few bruises. All in all, she faired rather well.

Picking through some of the cargo and dead bodies, Lena found a rather interesting blade. It had a sturdy build and a distinctive s-shaped guard. She picked it up and was surprised at the balance and light weight. It was a bit longer than the daggers she was used to but short enough to where she could still wield it properly. Pleased with her find, she turned back to Talos. "Lets quickly get out of here before the White Wolf gains a new doggie friend." Unfolding her wings, Lena took to the skies and hovered above the ship as she waited for him.

~*~*~*~

Kol listened to Mai's mother he met her gaze as he watched a single tear run down her face. "My mother took her life in grief of my father being unfaithful to her." With an unwavering stare as he clenched his fists. Though all his anger in the world over his lost mother could not overcome the sadness he saw on her face now. Kol sighed in defeat, what point was there to be angry now? To condemn a woman who so obviously at least seemed to care. "Forgive me, I should have contained myself better." He bowed slightly at the waist and leaned back up against the tree. "With all of the bad feelings harbored in our two families, I wouldn't want there to be more."

Kol knew his hatred of Talos may never fully diminish but if ever for Mai's sake, he would try his hardest not to burst into full rage at the very sight of him. And with Mai's mother being the cause of both his parents' death, he figured she had went through enough and didn't need Kol yelling at her either. Kol looked to Mai with a concerned glance. She had gone through a lot tonight as well and the shock of her mothers actions was clearly written on her face. "Mai..?" He asked in a cautionary manner.

After the pirate population had been diminished, Talos glided down from the crow's nest, skillfully avoiding the rigging and ropes that threatened to impede his flight on the way down. When he reached the deck, he headed down the bloody stairs into the hold, picking up a sword on his way incase any more of the scurvy sea rats were hiding down below decks. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for after he got down there, the room where they kept their booty easily definable from the rest of the holdings in the dark cramped underbelly of the rocking ship. Vertigo caught him in those halls, and he was sure that he would be sick again, but managed to hold down his breakfast through pure strength of will.

Various treasures and weapons lined the walls in this room, and he took a few moments to try and find where his own weapon would be. The large bow was hung up next to a couple of other smaller ones and even a crossbow. He de-strung the other smaller bows and stowed the coils on his belt, slinging his familiar bow over his shoulder. A quiver's worth of arrows were also taken and stowed on his person, then he began the search for his dirk, or a weapon like it. He found one of the long daggers that he was looking for, and a particularly odd-shaped blade. It wasn't decorated in anyway, the design fairly screaming practicality. The blade was perhaps as long as his hand and another half, the width of the blade spaded and as wide as his palm. It looked like the blacksmith's attempt to incorporate the heft of an axe into the versatility that a dagger provided.

Snatching the sheathe of the weapon, he took it with him up to the top deck, breathing a heavy sigh of relief when he got into the fresh sea air. He snorted at Lena's comment, stretching his wings eagerly at the thought of getting off of the ship. Now that the adrenalin wasn't running quite so high, he was starting to get sea sick. "Wouldn't wanna take your legend away from you." He replied with a chuckle, taking off after her and eagerly leaving behind the carnage on the decks.

The two flew for a while inland, landing in the clearing near the edge of a narrow lake a few hours yet before sunset began in earnest. The forest lake was calm and quiet, the sandy shores a light brown color and the water a pristine deep blue. Breathing in the fresh salt-free air, Talos relaxed his muscles and let his wings droop, the muscles between his back sore after such a long flight after having been used so little just a week before.

*~*~*~*

"I-I didn't know that she... I'm so sorry Kol. Hyten never told me-" With a shake of her head, she clasped her hands tightly and appeared overcome by her emotions, remaining silent as Kol spoke the rest of what he had to say. "Yes... The past hain't been purty... But you two gots a chance, at least. Ye cain't ever repair the damage that's been done in the past, but ye've got the chance ter change wot's been happin'in 'tween our families. All this stupid fightin'..."

During the explanation of her mother's feelings for Kol's father, and the dialogue running between the two, Mai watched silently with clouded eyes. Finally, she simply turned and began walking away, her face down turned. "I'm sorry ma, I can't... I jus' can't talk 'bout this right now." With one look over her shoulder toward Kol, she took to the skies, flying a short distance away so that she wouldn't have to face her mother at the moment. She landed a short distance away under a large tree and sat down by the roots, bringing her knees up so that she could rest her forehead against them, her arms wrapped around her legs.

Lena followed Talos once had been done finding his bow and apparently a new weapon. Her entire flight back was silent as she thought about their battle. The only hand-to-hand combat Talos had ever done was pretty much a fail. Even novice swords know to avoid the spine due to complications when attempted to pull the sword out. Perhaps if he had be fighting one on one that would have works but....As they landed Lena gave him a look as she set down her pack.

"You really should learn hand to hand combat. And soon. You could have gotten killed with the stupid move you pulled." She said, more moody then she meant to come off. She was still covered in blood and by this point it had dried on her skin and shirt.

~*~*~*~

Kol returned her gaze with a concerned one. She looked so upset as she announced that she couldn't deal with all of this at the moment and took to the skies. Kol frowned as he walked over to where Mai had stood and looked in the sky. Sighing, he placed a hand on Enita's shoulder. "I'll go talk to her." Was all he said before he too took to the skies. Following the general direction of Mai went, he eventually found her balled up next to a tree. His heart went out to her as he landed a couple feet from her.

He took his time to carefully approach her and cleared his throat so as not to scare her. "Mai...Are you alright?" He asked as she keeled in front of her. His green eyes full of concern for her.

Critique was the last thing he expected from Lena after landing, so when she started commenting on the pitiful reservoir that was his hand-to-hand combat experience, he quickly felt the anger rising to the surface. What made it all the worse was that she was right, and he found that he hated it when she was right and using that tone with him, like she was oh so superior. "Well, if you weren't such a bad shot, I wouldn't have had to fight 'em at all." He retorted quickly folding his arms and steeling his gaze. After all, what right did she have to comment? A tiny little woman like her should be protected after all, not on the front lines. "When you can kill somebody in one shot, then you can tell me how much I should be learning about hand-to-hand."

*~*~*~*

Mai snapped her eyes up when she heard Kol clear his throat. It was obvious that she was about to cry, and she squeezed her palms against her eyes briefly, as if doing so would stop the outburst of the water works. "Sorry Kol, I didn't mean ter be quite so-" A lump restricted her words, and she took a few minuets to breathe. "It's just so- Yer ma 'an pa are dead 'an it's all my ma's fault! And she cheated on da, and s-s-she-" Her resolve broke, and she dropped her head to her knees again, shoulder bobbing with her sobs and sniffles. "And what 'bout Talos? We always joked that 'e was the milkman's son, but wot if it's true? What if da ain't his pa, 'an 'es yer brother? O-or some other man that my ma just felt like sleepin' with?"

Lena stared at him with her mouth agape. Just when she had finally thought Talos had stopped treated her like an unequal he goes and says something so...so... infuriating! "How dare you." She hissed, unable to conjure any words to express her deep rage at the moment. Turning back to face him with the fire burning in her eyes, Lena out right charged him. Dipping her body to her shoulder would push into his chest and pushing her full weight on him. As meager as her weight was compared to him, she had caught him off guard and unbalanced. Her momentum had sent them into the lake that was behind them, mind they landed just on the shore where the water only covered a couple inches.

Landing on top of him, it took her a moment to compose herself as she put an arm on each side of Talos head and propped herself up. "Look here, buster, I refuse to take shit like that." She paused for a moment. There was an odd look on his face. "You aren't even taking me seriously are you?!" She asked angrily as water from her face, hair, and shirt dripped on him.

~*~*~*~

Kol looked at Mai with more confusion then concern now. There was no way that hick would ever be his brother, let alone related to him. Just, no. Shaking his head he silently took a hand and gently patted Mai's head. "Mai, what happened in the past is not your fault and can not be undone by your tears. Seeing you as such breaks my heart. And With Talos...perhaps you could ask your mother once everyone had settled down a bit more, hm? Just take one thing at a time." He said soothingly as he smoothed down her hair with his hand.

Lena's full body charge took him completely by surprise, her shoulder digging so suddenly into his midriff that he lost his breath in a great whoosh, only managing a few steps backwards before collapsing into the water behind them. They landed in a colossal splash, and though the water was only a few inches deep, the impact of their bodies made a huge splash and both of them were now quite soaked through. Once he understood what was going on, there were a few things that he noted in quick order.

One, that she was pissed at him and had her angry face on. For some reason, this didn't concern him, and he could even feel a slow grin creeping onto his face. Two, her lower body was pressed against him, her legs on either side of his hips, thoroughly straddling him. The third and perhaps most prominent detail was that Lena's white shirt was completely see through, the low dip in her shirt pulled away from her skin and affording him a tremendous view, her breasts almost literally right in his face with her looming overhead like she was.

Talos looked up at Lena in an over-exaggerated manner, making it quite clear that he had been staring somewhere other than her face while she was raging at him. "Take you seriously? With your shirt see-through and in this position? Never." His large cat-like grin did not fade and he reached up with one hand, wrapping it around one side of her neck so that he could pull her face down to his, their lips meeting in what was far from a gentle kiss, all of that pent-up frustration flowing out of him in that single moment.

*~*~*~*

"I-I know I can't change it." Mai sniffled, wiping her eyes again. "B-but all of that... it's just too sad. 'An ma was so convinced that we could do somethin' 'bout it." She rubbed her temples, apparently easing away a headache that had been brought on by her rather explosive sorrow. "Oh Kol, it just seems ter be gettin' harder 'an harder, don't it?" She sighed, and with trembling limbs managed to get her legs under her in a kneeling position, slowly regaining control of her emotions. "An ya can still love me after all 'o that?"

As Lena was about to spout more angry thing at Talos for mentioning her see through shirt, she felt his hand against her neck and in a swift movement he had pulled her down to him so their lips were fused together. It took her a heartbeat to respond to his rough kissing but as soon as she did, she felt a new fire within her begin to grow. Not taking time to analyze it, Lena closed her eyes and gave into him. The other arm that was holding her up drooped slightly which caused her breasts to brush against his chest as she matched his feverish kisses.

~*~*~*~*~

Kol looked at Mai, there was such sadness in her voice. He was taken off guard a little when Mai asked him if he still loved her. Placing a hand on her face, Kol leaned in close to her and touched his lips to hers. He kissed her with infinite tenderness putting all the emotion he could into it. Lingering for a moment more, Kol leaned back into his kneeling position as a ghost of a smile hovered on his lips.

"I'm not sure where you could get the silly idea that I could ever stop loving you. Even more so over something like this." His voice was gentle and loving. But in the back of his mind he was a little worried that he might have crossed the line again. He doubted Mai would be able to deal with such a thing if she were not ready for it right now.

Despite the very cold water that they were lying in, Talos was anything but cold, warmth spreading from anywhere that Lena's body was in contact with his. Without even knowing why, he found that he was infinitely relieved that Lena didn't simply pull away, calling him a foolish wisp of a man or whatever demeaning term she could think up for him for the outrageous offense. He pressed the kiss almost hungrily, his hands wandering from his sides to trace Lena's legs, rising over the curve of her bottom and resting on her hips, pressing her small form tighter to himself.

But even that did not please the slow burn that was quickly taking them up in flames as their kisses got more desperate the longer they laid in the water practically wrapped around each other. Using his greater strength and weight, he easily flipped Lena over, sending up another splash, but that hardly seemed to matter now. He moved his lips from her mouth, trailing a line of kisses over her chin and jaw to the crook of her neck, kissing and nipping at the soft skin there. He shuddered once when Lena moved beneath him, rubbing her body against his and igniting a whole new slew of feeling that had him pressing against her almost desperately. Again, his mouth sought out hers and they shared another long kiss, limbs entwined and hearts racing, wanting more but everything was just so new...

Reluctantly, Talos lifted himself off of Lena, pressing one final quick kiss to her lips as he sat back on his heels, allowing the smaller female to maneuver herself up as well.

*~*~*~*

Instead of running off or blushing at Kol's gentle kiss, Mai accepted it with a small smile and a sigh of relief. She took his hand gently in her own and squeezed it softly. "Yer so kind, even when all this stuff has ter be affectin' ya too. It probably wasn't such a good idea ter introduce ya ter my ma... but I wanted someone ter know, 'an she seemed like she wasn't against it... 'an now I suppose I know why..." Her last sentence trailed off as she sighed, squeezing his hand again. "But I'm glad that yer there fer me Kol. It means a lot ter me."

Lena felt the same fire building in herself and was a little surprised when he slowly pulled away from her. It was an odd sensation, going from feeling as if she were on fire to cold from realizing how chilly the water was. Sitting herself up in the water she looked at Talos with almost a blank stare. "So...that was fun." she laughed not really wanting to think about what just happened between them. There was no denying that she enjoyed it, and she was damn sure he did as well.

Pulling herself up, she flicked the water from her wings and attempted to wring out her clothing. Her now wet hair was plastered to her face, but a small redish purple mark was beginning to form on her neck which could be easily seen against her skin. She shivered slightly and crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to warm herself while also covering her breasts from further exposer to Talos. She already gave him one show.

~*~*~*~

"Anytime, my lady, anytime." He repeated softly and stood, slowly pulling Mai to her own feet. "Mai...is might sound a little awkward to you, but if you so wish you can accompany me back to my home. I assure you there are plenty of guests rooms and I doubt any of my siblings would recognize you. Perhaps it will give you space to think." A grin slowly spread across his face in a very Kol like manner. This would give him the chance to show her how he lived, and perhaps lavish her with some clothing he had been meaning to give her.